Saw-guard



J. G. GEOFF.

SAW GUARD.

(No Model.)

No. 278,130. Patented May 22,1883.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEQ JOSEPH Gr. GEOFF, OF GONNERSVILLE, INDIANA.

SAW-GUARD? SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 278,130, dated May 22, 1883.

Application filed December 20, 1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be itknown that I, JOSEPH G. GROFF, of

Gonnersville, in the county of Fayette and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hoods or Guards for Circular Saws; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of my invention. Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line a; as, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line y y, Fig. 1. I,

Similar letters of reference in the several figures denote the same parts.

My invention has for its object to provide an automatically-adjustable hood or guard for circular saws whose operation is not dependent upon the employment of separate counterbalance weights or springs, and whose construction is simpler and cheaper than those heretofore made.

I will first describe my improvement, and then point out its particular points of novelty in the clauses of claim at the end of the specification. 7

Referring to the accompanying drawings,A represents'the'main frame of the hood, to which are attached the hood sides B, said sides beh ing cut away or formed angularly at their lower edges, as shown at V W, for a purpose to be hereinafter explained. The forward end of the hood is provided with an upwardly-inclined projection, G,-Qwhile the rear of said frame is provided with arms D, which extend rearward and embrace a vertically-arranged plate, F, the said arms D being hung at their upper portion to a pivot, q, adjustably secured within a slot, S, in said plate F. Pivot qconsists of a stud or bolt having a cylindrical shank of a diameter greater than the width of the slot S, and havinga circular groove, q, in its shank, asshown in Fig. 2. In connecting the arms D to the pivot q, the portions (1 of the arms through which the pivot passes are raised, so as to register with a circular opening, s, in the plate F at the top of the slot S. The pivot is then passed through the perfora tion in the parts at of the arms and through the opening 8 in the plate until its groove is in line with the edges of the plate adjacent to the slot S, and then the hood is lowered, thus causing the pivot bearing the armsD D to descend,

with its grooved portion embracing the plate F on opposite sides of the slot, as will befully understood from an inspection of Fig. 2. An adjustable bolt, 2, passes through lugs Z at therear of the hood-arms D, and assists in preserving the relative position of said arms with respect to the plate F, and constitutes a means of adjustment to compensate for wear. The lower end of the plate F is inclined backwardly at an angle, as shown, and fits within a corresponding socket formed upon a bed-plate, It, as shown in Fig. 1. The said bed-plate B is adapted to be secured to the table by means of screws or other contrivances, with its top face flush with .the top of the table, and is adapted to be moved longitudinally or laterally to accommodate hoods of different lengths,

and also to effect the alignment of the guard with the saw.

Inthe operation of this device the board, approaching the hood in the direction of the arrow, strikes the inclined projection G, causing the hood to swing on the pivot q, and its forward end to be lilted so as to ride on top of the board. Passing under the hood, the forward end ofthe board next strikes the incline V of the sides and raises the rear portion of the hood, the pivot g sliding up the slot S to permit of this being done. The plate F, being of the width or nearly of the width of the sawblade and in line therewith, enters the kerf in the board and prevents binding of the board on the saw. the hood the forward end of the latter drops first upon the table and afterward the rear end in like manner. It will thus be seen that the hood is raised by the lumber as it approaches the saw, remains upon the same while passing the saw, and descends again upon the table, all in an automatic manner, the saw all the while being completely covered, so as to prevent accidents to the operator, either by contact with the saw or from flying pieces of ma- I terial. It will also be observed that the provision of the inclined projection G and the angular form of the hood sides effects the raising of the hood first at one end and then ,at the other without the assistance of counter weights or springs, as commonly.

The incline W performs thefunction ofgrad u- As the board passes from under ICC ally lowering the front end of the hood back upon the table as the board passes from under the hood, in like manner as the incline V serves in raising the rear end of the hood by contact with the forward end :of the board. The inclineW might be dispensed with; but I prefer to employ it.

As it is only necessary that the forward end of the board to be sawed should raise the rear end of the hood slightly above its normal position, I provide an adjustable set-screw, r, for limiting the downward movement of the rear end of the hood, and 1 form a graduated scale on the plate F, adjacent to the slot S therein, indicating inches and fractions thereof. By this provision, when a board to be sawed is one inch or more thick, the rear end of the hood may be elevated three-quarters of an inch, and secured at that elevation by the ad justable set-screw a, and the advancing board will then be required to raise it but one-quarter of an inch. The lower end of the plate or blade F is made of angular form and inclined backward, and is fitted into the correspond ingly-formed socket, in order to give the blade rigidity and prevent its being raised or displaced by the raising of the hood; but this manner of connecting the plate to its socket does not prevent it from being readily withdrawn and lifted from the table with hood attached when for any reason it is desirable or necessary.

Having thus described myinvention, I claim as new 1. An automatic self-adjusting guardforcircular saws, consisting of a hood hung upon a pivot which has a free vertical movement in its bearings, and having a forward inclined projection upon which the advancing material to be sawed acts to raise the forward end of the hood, and having also another inclined surface upon which the said material acts to raise the rear end of the hood, and thus cause the hood to rest wholly on the material, substantially as described. I

2. An automatic self-ad j nstin g guard or hood hung upon a pivot, which has a free vertical movement in itsbearing, and havingaforward inclined projection upon which the advancing material to be sawed acts to raise its forward end, another incline upon which said material acts to raise its rear end, and a third incline acting upon the material to gradually lower its rear end to the table again, substantially as described.

3. The herein-described saw-guard, having the rearwardly-extending arms, the foward inclined projection, and the angular bottom, in combination with the vertical slotted blade or plate, and the pivot adjustable in said slotted plate, substantially as described.

4. The combination of the hood having the rearwardly-extending arms, the vertical slotted plate embraced bysaid arms, the pivot adjustable in said slotted plate, and the 'adj usting-screw connecting the lugs on the arms, substantially as described.

5. The combination of the vertical plate having the angular backwardly-inclined lower end with the socket-plate on the table, having a socket corresponding to the lower end of the vertical plate, and with a saw-hood pivoted to the vertical plate and projecting to the front thereof, the'whole arranged substantially as described.

6. The combination of the hood having the rearwardly-extending arms, the vertically-adjustable pivot, the slotted plate having theangular lower end, and the angular socketin which the lower end of said plate fits, substantially as described.

7. The combination of the hood having the rearwardly-extended arms,the adjustable pivot, the slotted plate having the graduations, and the adjustable set-screw or stop for limiting the descent of the rear end of the hood, substantially as described.

S. The combination of the rearwardly-extending arms of the hood embracing the vertical plate, the vertical plate having the vertical slot and the circular opening at the end of the slot, and the pivot-bolt haviu g the grooved shank, the whole arranged and operating substantiall y as described.

' JOSEPH G. GEOFF.

Witnesses:

W. H. MoYER, GEORGE O. FLOREA. 

